The Youth Support Project provides counseling and educational services to unemployed youth in North Karelia, Finland. The project is administered by the North Karelia Municipal Education and Training Consortium and aims to help youth gain work experience, education, and life skills to avoid marginalization. Services include an Open College which provides individualized and flexible study programs, and a Counseling and Guidance Center that offers career counseling, support for education transitions, and connections to other services. Between 2010-2014, over 800 youth have participated in long or short-term counseling through the project.

1. Youth Support Project, Job forum –
Stockholm 16.5.2013
Tero Vornanen, Kristiina Sallinen
Open College and Guidance Center
are the activities of Youth Support
Project (2010-2014) administrated
by the North Karelia Municipal
Education and Training
Consortium.
Project`s target group:
15-24-year old unemployed
North Karelians
Used resources 31.12.2012:
Guidance Center 1,42 milj. €
Open College
1,16 milj. €
The project is funded by the
European Social Fund (ESF).

2. Youth Support`s goals:
• to offer possibilities to VET or work experience and gain every day
life skills
• to develop the functions of guidance and conselling e.g. dialogical
counselling as well as Open Vocational College
• to avoid marginalization and social exlusion of young people
Actions:
– North Karelia Municipal Education and Training Consortium:
Counselling and Guidance center and Open College
– Joensuu City, Youth workshop: Starttiverstas (low level individual coaching)

3. Corner stones:
Counselling and Guidance Center (CGC)
• Starting point survey, sector guidance,
recognition and clarification of individual
obstacles
• Valuntary confidential counselling
• Career counselling and supported transfers
to education (transitions)
• Expertise on counselling, knowledge of the
educational structure and qualifications,
and methodical know-how
• Networks and partnerships
• Flexible transition to open college or other
services
Open College
• Individual, functional and alternative studies,
learning by doing, individual length and content
(also short-term study periods)
• Implementation as labour political education
• Permanent co-operation between Open College
and CGC helps to make realistic plans for the
future (PSP)
• Non-stop student intake
• Studies are identificated in future studies in VET
or adult education
• personal guidance and support is offered
constantly with CGC
Community based work orientation → active participation of the young
Shared responsibility→ diverse knowledge, better coping at work

4. Counselling side by side Evaluating and developing of the project
The upper secondary
schools (VET/High
school)
Employment and
economic
development offices
Workshops, out-
reached youth work
Self-guided, friends,
family
Social office, youth
work
Joint
application
system
Apprenticeship
training
Labour market
training
Salary
supported
workplace
• Improving studying and working
skills
• Starting VET studies
• Improving life managment skills
• Finishing VET studies
Guidance to other services
Becoming
acquantained with the
services
Starting point survey
Strenghtening the life
situation and social
network
Professional aim
setting
Supported
transfer
work
experiments
Counselling Center
Instructional services/
sender
Dialogical, activating
and counselling side
by side
Open college
Aim setting
Non-stop
flexible and
supported
counselling
Health services
Criminal sanctions
agency
Non-stop
flexible and
supported
counselling
Non-stop
flexible and
supported
counselling
Non-stop
flexible and
supported
counselling
Supporting the young to active participation
Open college and
counselling centers
process chart
Transition to
education

5. Becoming
acquainted to the
services
• Service and
sector guidance
and
• Co-operation
with network
operators
Starting point survey
• confidential
guidance
relationship
• Validation of
customers life
situation
• Student
counselling
methods
• Individual coaching
Aim setting
• Short- and long-
term aim setting
and evaluation
during the
guidance
• Methods i.a.
target form
(Goaling)
Strenghtening the life
situation and social
network
• Supporting the
strenghts and skills
• Social network survey
• Situation and skill
training
• Increasing the self-
observation
• Small group activities
• Methods: strengh
cards, screening
important things in life
Professional aim
setting
• Improving studying
and working skills
• Previous work
experiments
• Methods i.a. career
cards, school and
workplace visits,
web-sites
• Guidance to other services, network co-operation
• Encouraging and empowerment
• Training and work experiment, practical training
• Online guidance (Facebook )
COUNSELLING CENTER
Dialogical, activating and counselling side by side
Transition to
education
• Co-operation
with schools
• Other co-
operation
partners
• Communication
with student
and networks
• Monitoring and
support
Necessary while guidance
Evaluating and developing

6. OPEN COLLEGE
1. Applying for education
• Guidance in counselling office
• Interview, checking the selection criteria
• Application to employment and economic
development office
• Student selection
2. Individual stydy plan
• Individual lenght, contents and aims
• Everyday life skills, strengthen study and worklife
skills, vocational aims
• education aims review
3. Vocational education
Options:
• The North Karelia College
• The North Karelia Adult Education Centre
• On-the-job learning based individual training in
college or adult education center
4. Guidance after open college
• Joint application system
• Open or flexible access to schools
• Guidance to other services
Counselling Center:
Guidance side by side
Co-operation with:
Economic
Development
Office, Social
Insurance
Institution,schools, h
ealth care and social
services

7. 13.5.2013 7
OPEN COLLEGE
Group based preparatory training (to VET)
Core studies, ia.
• Finnish 1–4 cr
• Swedish 1 cr
• English1-2 cr
• Maths 1–3 cr
• Physics and chemistry 1 cr
• Arts and culture 1 cr
• Psychology 1 cr
• free-choice studies, which
vary
Elementary school studies
to revise grades
Self-knowledge and learning skills :
communication and social
skills, learning methods, phycical
education
Preparation for the post-graduate
studies and and working life: career
counselling, working life knowledge,
alternative study forms, different
short-term certificate courses (ia.
first-aid, hygiene proficiency)
Student counselling,
work-based learning:
periods that support
career counselling
and work skills
2 – 3 days/week 2 – 3 days/week Individually:

8. Youth Support Project
816 young by the end of March 2013
- 493 longterm councelling
- 323 shortterm counselling (under 7 hours)
- In the end of counselling 48 % of clients transfered to further studies
- Most of the young aged 17-22
- Open College number of students 298, including preparatory studies for VET
220 and vocational training 78 students
Statistics:

9. Sex of clients (n=493)
male 260female 233
Statistics

10. 132
251
79
26
5
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 1 2 3 4
Number of clients with Discontinued Studies (73%)
Statistics
Long-term counselling

11. 108
96
55
62
57
44
8 7
42
5
2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
The clients (323), services in the end of counselling
before counselling during counselling after counselling
Social Services
Mental Health Services
Substance Counselling
Services
Criminal Sanctions
Agency
Statistics

12. 13.5.2013 12
Contact information:
Joensuu
Tero Vornanen Project Manager
tero.vornanen@pkky.fi p. 0504023195
Kristiina Sallinen Education Planner
kristiina.sallinen@pkky.fi p. 0503100745
Anu Kotialainen Counsellor
anu.kotilainen@pkky.fi p. 0504330439
Teresa Ikonen Counsellor
teresa.ikonen@pkky.fi p. 0505777819
Johanna Erola Counsellor
johanna.erola@pkky.fi p. 0505777825
Helena Härkönen Project Assistant
helena.harkonen@pkky.fi p. 0505777820
Kitee
Heli Pesonen Counsellor
heli.pesonen@pkky.fi p. 0505777821
Juuka/Lieksa/Nurmes/Valtimo
Marja Piiroinen Counsellor
marja.piiroinen@pkky.fi p. 0505777824
Liperi/Outokumpu
Juha Vänskä Counsellor
juha.vanska@pkky.fi p. 0505777823